Most likely this is not the right category to post here but just quickly wnated to share my subscription problem to Brew Your Own magazine and how they chose to handle to resolve it.
I have subscribed to the magazine in April and received my first issue of May-June. All summer long, I have not received one and in August I started calling them. THey said, they extended my subscription for two more issues I was missing and the earliest issue I would be getting was October. I made numerous more calls trying to figure out what to do. They suggested I should request a Postal Watch but my local post office told me that it is something requested by the publisher/mailer not by the receiver. I call them up again to be told over and over agin, all five issues were mailed and there i snothing they can do about it. Knowing that this is not going anywhere, I asked if I could my subcription. Surely, they would do it but prorated with the assumption that I have received five issues already (actually based on the number of issues mailed out already). And credit will show up in seven to eight weeks. It was an expensive single issue I have received and not to mention at least six seven calls and wasting over an hour on the phone for one pesky subscription. I cannot expect them to make the magazine appear in my mail box but, there is nothing we can do approach what prompted me to share this with you all. I do not like to pay for the services or goods I have not received.

On the other hand, four brews I made so far is getting very nice compliments including from the members of my local brewers, so I am happy with my newly found hobby.

Thanks for the heads up. I think we need more reviews like this here, relating to ingredient and equipment suppliers, etc.

For instance, I found a place called Listermann.com, and they had LME for $2.10/lb, with free shipping east of the mississip. Cool! So I ordered 10 lbs of Wheat and 10 lbs of Light.

When it got here, there were two tubs, each in a plastic bag, and at least half of the extract had leaked out from the tub into the bag. Not only that, but neither of them were labelled, so I have no freaking clue which is wheat and which is light.

I've had nothing but problems with BYO mag.
I sent for a subscription awhile back and what they do is send one out free (so they say) and you can cancel if you don't want to subscribe. So I thought (silly me) that I would get an issue, check it out then recieve a bill of some sort with a "choice." If you want to continue, check here, if not check here. Or at least a card to send back that comes with the sample issue to let them know if you want it or not.

What I got instead was a second issue!
About a week later I got a bill and it was kind of like "By now you should have recieved your first issue, maybe you forgot to pay, these things happen, please submit the amount below." Say what? What happened to my sample and a decision if I want to continue or not?

I sent a check then recieved another letter saying I owe them money. I called and they finally found my check. I explained my confusion over the first issue and how they didn't give me a chance to respond. They said that's the way they do it and if you didn't want the mag you should have written cancel on the bill. What am I a mind reader? And after I got two issues, one sample and one they just casually slipped in there and then billed me for?

Now, I haven't recieved anything for awhile and I called them. They said it's in the mail. I knew the new issue came out because I saw it change on there website. The last issue I got was the september issue with the owner of Dogfish Head on the cover.
I finally get my new issue and it's not the one I was expecting. The new one has a big "A B C" on the cover the issue listed as the current issue (that the webpage just updated about 2 weeks ago) is the "Super Kits, Super Beers" issue. I never recieved that. So they skipped an issue.

I will be calling tomorrow.

Here is what they say is the current issue. http://byo.com/
That was last issue "not" the current issue...and I never got it.

I've had nothing but problems with BYO mag.
I sent for a subscription awhile back and what they do is send one out free (so they say) and you can cancel if you don't want to subscribe. So I thought (silly me) that I would get an issue, check it out then recieve a bill of some sort with a "choice." If you want to continue, check here, if not check here. Or at least a card to send back that comes with the sample issue to let them know if you want it or not.

What I got instead was a second issue!
About a week later I got a bill and it was kind of like "By now you should have recieved your first issue, maybe you forgot to pay, these things happen, please submit the amount below." Say what? What happened to my sample and a decision if I want to continue or not?

I sent a check then recieved another letter saying I owe them money. I called and they finally found my check. I explained my confusion over the first issue and how they didn't give me a chance to respond. They said that's the way they do it and if you didn't want the mag you should have written cancel on the bill. What am I a mind reader? And after I got two issues, one sample and one they just casually slipped in there and then billed me for?

Now, I haven't recieved anything for awhile and I called them. They said it's in the mail. I knew the new issue came out because I saw it change on there website. The last issue I got was the september issue with the owner of Dogfish Head on the cover.
I finally get my new issue and it's not the one I was expecting. The new one has a big "A B C" on the cover the issue listed as the current issue (that the webpage just updated about 2 weeks ago) is the "Super Kits, Super Beers" issue. I never recieved that. So they skipped an issue.

I will be calling tomorrow.

Here is what they say is the current issue. http://byo.com/
That was last issue "not" the current issue...and I never got it.

Just wanted to post the other side here. I started with BYO with a free copy. I got my bill which I was expecting and delayed a little sending it in. I ended up getting my next copy but saw I had missed one inbetween. I emailed them and had a back and forth with them. Seems my payment did not hit in time for the next issue to be sent to me and they started my subscription with the first issue after my payment got there. I really wanted the issue I missed(it had an article on lagering) and I asked if they would send it to me. While the women I was dealing with said it was not policy to back date subscriptions she would do it for me since I asked nicely . I haven't missed an issue since. They do seem to have a screwy mailing schedual as I just got the Nov issue yesterday and I know from posts here others got them last week.

__________________

It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool, then to speak and remove all doubt.

Bummer to hear this, as I just placed a subscription order. I picked up the October 2006 "Super Kits Super Beers" issue (current issue on the web site) at my LHBS a month ago, and sent in my subscription order two weeks ago. I already know I want the subscription, so I'll send in the payment the day I receive the bill in hopes of not missing an issue.